The Cutie Cup

by Mathew_The_Raridash_Fan

Applejack

Apple Bloom found her sister bucking apple trees. There were a lot of apples that needed to be harvest, and she didn't want to wait for her to finish, “I want to enter in the Cutie Cup, and I really need your help!”

Applejack told her, “Winning the Cutie Cup ain't an easy feat, Apple Bloom. You need determination, dedication, and teamwork.” She continued bucking trees as she talked.

“I know! I really want to win it like you did!” Apple Bloom begged.

“Alright. The best thing is to play on each other's strengths. You need a team member who is very fast for the relay race. They need to be on the final leg, that is important. When it comes to tug-war, earth ponies are your greatest asset. You would fit that role rather nicely. For the item finding, you should get somepony with high attention to detail. One who can find stuff in a large mess. For the rock climbing, you need someone with great upper body strength, especially one who is capable of carrying another pony if ever needed. Finally, you need a pony who is fearless, a pony with strong defense, and a pony who is skilled at finding things. A great team has three ponies who can fit those descriptions.” Applejack explained.

“Scootaloo is pretty fast, and Sweetie Belle has great attention to detail!” Apple Bloom pointed out.

Applejack sighed, “Sweetie Belle lacks attention to detail. You are comparing her to her sister, Rarity. Scootaloo's attention to detail is far better. Sweetie Belle is mighty strong for a unicorn, though.”

“So Scootaloo is best with the relay and item finding, Sweetie is best at tug-o-war, and I'm best at rock climbing! Then we can all work together for capture the flag!” Apple Bloom calculated.

“Exactly!” Applejack agreed.

Applejack and Apple Bloom went on to talk about weaknesses. They all lacked patience, and Applejack was worried they were going to work too hard. She also worried that their reasons for wanting to win weren't strong enough to motivate them. Her reason for winning was because the farm was running down, and the Apple family wasn't able to make enough money, even with the apple sales. Winning the Cutie Cup gave her enough money to fix the farm. Rarity's reason was to help the orphanage while Derpy's was to fix a house she accidentally demolished. There was no family title nor the desire to earn their cutie marks.

Scootaloo shouted, “Watch out!” and smacked into one of the apple trees knocking off all the apples. A few hit her head. She moaned and got back on her hooves. “Sorry. Rainbow Dash agreed to help us with the training!”

“So did Applejack!” Apple Bloom said.

“No I didn't!” Applejack told her, “I gave you advice on winning. I never said anything about helping y'all train!”

“Rainbow Dash will still help us,” Apple Bloom said sheepishly. “Let's go and train, Scootaloo!”

“Sweetie Belle should train, too,” Scootaloo reminded her. “We should get her first!

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo left without any warning and sped through Ponyville towards the Carousel Boutique.